Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-09-23
IN THE COUNTY COURT.
OPENING OF THE TRIAL OF THE FA-
NOUS MOVES WILL CASE,
Difficulty in Impanelling "A Jury-A Live
Iy Tussle Between the Lawyers rs to
who Had the Affirmative
History of the Case.

County Court opened at the Court
house Tuesday morning at Q O'Clock. Judge
Tyler Of BrattleborO, who has just been
appointed to the bench to fill the vacancy
caused By the resignation Of Judge Walk
er, arrived in the city Monday evening and
is presiding. There Is every indication of
a busy term and the lawyers accordingly
wear n cheerful look. 1t is expected that
the case having to do with the will Of the
late '. j. NOyes, III which special Jury
was summoned, viii be the first one to be
disposed of.
The court rooms have been completely
renovated aud are now without doubt the
finest in the State. The woodwork has all
been redressed in oil and presents "A ri.u.
appearance az do the walls and celiuys
which have been beautifully tinted and
decorated The tlnts BEGIN lioht st the
ceiling and grow darker az the base L.
reached. The ground work of the ceiling
Is Il warm buff, sur OunOed with - inch
stle OF rich brown separated from the
main ceiling by blue, cIrmIud 8nu dark
lines. Iue corlice Is treated in shades uf
browns and hrOnzeS in the cove is a pea
cock blue The wall Is q ricu russell and
Is separated from tie cjrnice by a wide
frieHe Of u darker shade of rus-ctt b0r0pr
ed with cHrmiue aud blue lines to CORE
spOnd with the other parts. At the bot
tom OF the wall there Is a broad band
of Tuscan red separated from the vain
sCOttluG by dark lines Whl-u blend into
the color Of the woodwork. The ceutre,
and ventilators are treated in color- aud
DrOuZeS to hHrmOniZe with tire rest OF the
rOOm ana tha sueilWOrii in the different
members are brought out with remarkable
dis''uctness.
The arch to the of Uue Judges bench
Is one Of the most attractive features Of
the room, the half round being gilded IN
addition to the cornice, treated the same az
the main cOrnice of the room, producing
rich effect. The tintS give the room
rich warm appearance, in striking con-
trast tothe cold and cheerless appearance
OF the former unrelievCd white walls, and
the effect of the whole room is pleasing to
the extreme.
In the judges room the walls are of a
cream tint in oil to the height of seven
feet where Il narrow band Of light brown
encircles the room. Above this the wall
and ceiling area light buff in water color.
The cornCe has three bands of gold leaf,
one of peacock blue and two of buT, d
Is very handsome. The ceiling is also
cream color, but Of a lighter shtd than
the walls. There is also an attractive
centre piece made up OF the same tintS As
the ceiling and cornice. Here also the
woodwork has been redressed in oil and
presents iine appearance. The work was
done by Mr.. f.. a. Smith and 1t is not too
much TO say that 1t was well done III every
particular.
The other parts of the building have
also been thoroughly renovated, the car
pets taken up, cleaned and relaid, the
various chandeliers brOnZed, aud in fact
every part pat in first. class shape. The
county Judges ale to be congratulated Oh
the marked Improvement Iii the court
rooms aud credit is also due County Clerk
.. Z. Ray, who has had general over
sight of the work. The court ROOFS will
undoubtedly be greatly admired to-day
as they deserve to be.
aaAt the opening of the County Court
Wednesday morning, Judge Veazey reliev-
ed Judge Tyler as presiding judge and
Court proceeded at once to the trial of
the case of Vernon p. Noyes's will, d. y.
Burton, administrator, contestant. The
history OF the case is well known in this
immediate vicinity, but recital of the
VIII be in order. In September 1850 Yer
non Z. Noyes II well known banker Of
TINS CITY ul-u ledN - Ill estate, which is
estimated at At million dollars OF over.
lie also lett a will Dequeathing Mrs Mary
NJ. Brown, his sister, $4,000, and making
his brother, Julius Nj. NoyeS of New
York, residuary legatee, thus utterly dis
cardlng Mrs. Laura W. Burton, another
sister. The Will waa )presented for pro
bate IN due form and admitted, where
upon Mr.. Burton appealed to the county
court flom the decision of the probate
court. Subsequently the appellant died
and now the Will Is being contested by
her son, ID. n. Burton as the administra-
tor of her estate. The grounds of contest
as shown by the pleadlngs are undue In
nuence and the revocation of the will pro-
bated.
At the opening of court the work of
empannei!lng I special jury was begun
and the following were called:
COichesler-S. BlgWOOu, u. l.. Rey-
uolds, Ormund Cole
Burlington-A. G. PIERCE, Solomon
Walker.
Charlotte. b. Wicker, W. W. Hig-
bee.
Bolton-F. w. Hall,
Huntlngton--O. II. Ellis.
EsseX-E. n. Beach, Hawley Castle.
South Observation-Disclosures klmball.
Ormond Cole was excused by the coun-
sci for the propOnent and A. &. Robinson
OF Westford was the 18th juror called.
Senator Edmunds explained that the
question OF improper influence and revo-
cation would constitute the issue III the
CASE. MIR. Pelrcc thought he WAS pre-
judiosd and feared that he would permit
his personal feelings TO interfere with his
Judgment, and he WA accordingly eX
sused. Counsel for the proponent noted
On exception. l.. II. Talcott OF Willis
Ton Wa Gne libn juror called. Mr.. SOLO
mon Walker stated that he had known
she parties for years and would serve as
juror with great reluctance, aud he further
thought that he would be unduly infu-
enced IN the case by his prejudice. He
was accordingly excused by the court
Isaiah Dow of Hinesburgh was the 18th
juror called and he said he knew nothing
about the case.
The counsel for the contestant excused
Mr.. Higbee and Mr.. kimball and f. &,
Williams and NJ. j. Willard of Jericho
were the 10th and nth jurors respectively
called. They were accepted thus COM
pleting the panel and the jury were there
upon sworn.
Arguments ensUed on the question as
to VINO should have the opening and
close. 1t was claimed by the contestants
that there would be no question raised as
TO the general qualifications OF the testa-
tor or the execution OF the VIII and the
only issues would be those OF undue in
nuence and a revocation.
The court said thlS question was not
new one and tnatit WAS a matter 81 well es-
taohshed IN tins jurisprudence that While
he was glad 10 nave the suggestions, they
We're not sufficient. The question as TO
the validity II the viii was 10 be decided.
He, therefore, ruled that the prununent